Ansonia's Arkeel Newsome carries the ball into the endzone as North Branford's Alex McGuigan defends during the Class S state football championship game Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
Photo: Autumn Driscoll

A 5-foot-8, 180-pound senior, Newsome has unofficially totaled 7,459 career rushing yards at Ansonia. He is just 821 shy of the state record, held by former Chargers running back Alex Thomas.

Newsome, an electric open-field runner with great cutback ability, has rushed for 654 yards on just 30 carries (21.8 yards per rush) in Ansonia's three blowout victories. He hasn't yet played a second-half snap this season.

Newsome committed to UConn on July 11, choosing the Huskies over UMass. He made unofficial visits and attended camps at Miami and Florida, but didn't receive any offers.

"I like (UConn's) program and their offensive style," Newsome said shortly after his commitment. "There was a real interest in me, and that's one of the reasons I made my decision."

While he felt bad about Pasqualoni's firing, according to Brockett, Newsome isn't looking to abandon his commitment. UConn athletic director Warde Manuel and Weist both said the program will honor the commitments of current recruits.

Aside from Newsome, the Huskies have one additional in-state commitment for 2014: St. Paul (Bristol) quarterback Logan Marchi. According to a report in the Waterbury Republican-American, Marchi plans to "wait and see what happens and make the best out of the situation."